If Only for a Moment
by hopelessromantic1990
Summary: It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone. But it takes a life time to forget someone. Patience is bitter, but it bares the sweetest fruit. What will happen when Bella and Edward are reunited after be
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone. But it takes a life time to forget someone. Patience is bitter, but it bares the sweetest fruit. What will happen when Bella and Edward are reunited after being separated for so many years since childhood? Is it too good be to be true or is Bella's life finally as good as her dreams?

**Hi everyone! I literally wrote this at 4 AM because I couldn't sleep due to the mess of thoughts spinning around my head. This story is based on very real events in my life and I basically used Bella and Edward to help me get them off my mind haha**

**DISCLAIMER: Bella and Edward and all other Twilight-ness belong to Steph Meyer :)**

If Only for a Moment

Have you ever had one of those moments where you imagine something and see a whole lifetime that results from it flash before your eyes?

Well I have.

I'm Bella Swan and I'll never forget the hyper drive my brain felt the day he walked back into my life.

But first the context: I'm a 20 year old college student and have loved theatre since I can remember, mostly writing though I do have hopes of being a director. A few months ago I found out a play I wrote was going to be produced! My mom being my mom called our town paper and they did an article about it which is totally cool though slightly weird because people who don't know me or haven't spoken to me in years now knew my business….But the story I'm telling actually goes back much farther then that. You see, when I was in Pre-school I was already quite boy crazy and at the tender age of four I developed a rather advanced crush on a boy in my class: Edward Mason. He was your typical cute little boy as I was your typical cute little girl…I was really into Full House at the time and on the show one of DJs boyfriends hired Frankie Valli to sing "You're Just to Good to be True" to her and I thought this was the perfect way to win someone's affections so I memorized the song and then had my Grandma help me write out a message (on the envelope of the card) that said "Will you be my boyfriend" with corresponding yes/no checkboxes. The deed went down on the playground soon after and he checked yes. We stayed friends for quite sometime after, even though we went to different schools post pre-K, to put it simply I was invited to his birthday party into the second grade. Then for some reason or another we lost touch…we lived in a relatively small town so we saw each other every once and awhile and when we were still young we'd socialize like 1 random day we ran into each other at the lake and had swimming races together but after that it was like we didn't know each other….Myspcae came into being and we decided to try and reconnect but it was short lived, our AIM conversations fizzling out after a week….we became facebook friends later on but NEVER spoke and we knew some of the same people but it never brought us together. Through the grapevine I found out he'd enlisted in the Marines (which made me feel really weird) and we sort of just continued down our paths - I really never thought I'd see him again….and that brings us to the very recent past you see my play was being produced the week of Thanksgiving and he happened to be home and happened to see the article about me and my play in the town paper.

I was out with my mom running some errands when my cell phone rang - it was my dad - he had called to say that Edward Mason and his mom were going to be stopping by around 5 because they wanted to congratulate me! My mind went into overdrive and I was flipping out - how weird was that? I hadn't seen him in God knows how long and he was going to be coming to my house? Ahhhhh! But I pulled myself together and of course made myself look more then presentable by the time they were due to arrive. My heart was fluttering and I was trying to keep myself busy when the doorbell rang just after 5. His mom hadn't changed one bit and I greeted her first but as she stepped into the house I got my first visual of my toddler soul mate in years and boy oh boy did four year old me have good taste! He was gorgeous! He was tall, his hair was trimmed close to his head as the service required he had the most defined arm muscles I'd ever seen, he was tan and had PIERCING eyes. He took a step closer to me and I realized he was holding a bouquet of flowers - he had brought me flowers! I took them before hugging him out of reflex and shock I think and then smelt the flowers telling him to come inside. I ushered them both into the kitchen where my mom was waiting and I busied myself/ calmed my nerves by dealing with the flowers; getting the vase and water and all that… They sat and my mom took away my busying task by saying she'd handle the flowers and that I could (more like should) sit - curse her! (Though it ended up being for the best!)

I sat at the table across from his mom, diagonally across from him and we talked about the play first and then about school and then about the Marines and about how my grandfather had been one and I guess about an hour had passed before we started wrapping things up and they were telling me that they were coming to see the play for opening the next night! I was in shock once more - the boy of my past had LITERALLY just walked back into my life and I would be seeing him 2 days in a row. I hugged him (and his mom) good bye and walked them out talking about how I'd see them tomorrow and word vomiting thanks and appreciation for the visit and the flowers. As I closed the door I exhaled and leaned against it once closed - had that really just happened? Were they actually coming? Was this really happening?

The next day was show day and my mind was all over the realm of possibilities but didn't real go near the Edward situation, though early in the day I didn't "stumble upon" his facebook page to confirm that he was single (yayy!) . The doors opened and I watched as the people filed in - he was nowhere in sight… I went to give places to the actors thinking all had been lost when in he walked! They had gotten on the wrong subway but made it just in time. They quickly took their seats and the show began soon after. It went so smooth, without a hitch! I was bombarded by people after the show was over but I managed to make my way over to him and his family - they congratulated me once more and told me they enjoyed the play. We talked a bit about it and my inspiration before it was time for them to go and as they began parting I hugged his mother and him once more and as I hugged him I told him I didn't want to lose touch again and he agreed. And with that he was gone. I had no idea whether I'd ever hear from him again but that didn't stop me from spinning around to squeal with my best friend since the age of 5 Alice Brandon. I had filled her in on the whole story and she was very excited for me and allowed me to get a bit ahead of myself, discussing how cute he was and how cool it would be if something formed between us. However, I was uncharacteristically realistic and said "No, no, no I can't get ahead of myself he's going to Afghanistan in 2 weeks (he had told us that while in my kitchen)and there's no way this is going anywhere." After everyone had parted and my family had had a celebratory dinner at one my favorite restaurants we departed from the city and headed home.

Once home I logged onto my facebook just to quickly check a few things and was soon made aware of the fact that I had a message - from Edward. I of course opened it right away and it was thrilled to read it's contents:

_The play was enjoyable, I liked it. I was wondering- if I'm not being too forward here - but I was wondering if you'd like to get together and do something? I leave next Tuesday so let me know if you have any free time between now and then and if you want to do something - here is my number just in case 123-456-7890. I'll talk to you - take care - Edward_

I was dying! Of course I wanted to get together! I needed to know what this meant though so first I asked my college room mate Angela who was ecstatic for me and just as I had kept getting hung up on the part about being too forward - we were both baffled….So I called Alice who told me to respond as neutrally as I could while still being excited and we came up with:

_Hey - I'm so glad you liked the play! I'd love to get together, that would be great! I'm only home till Sunday night and then I go back to school but anytime Sunday or during the day Friday or Saturday I'm free so just let me know what's good for you - my numbers 908-765-4321. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll talk to you soon_

I stayed up only a little longer after sending the message and awoke to a text message simply saying "Happy Thanksgiving" - from him - as well as a reply to my facebook message saying "Alrighty ttyl :)"

I could not believe it! Even if a part of me did think I'd hear back from him I NEVER thought it would be sooo speedy - did this mean he wanted to spend time together as more then friends reconnecting? Did it mean that maybe I wasn't so delusional to be feeling and thinking everything I had been trying to push away in fear of getting hurt? Did this mean anything or was I just getting worked up and he was just simply a prompt guy? I didn't have any answers so I spent the ride to my aunt uncles (where we celebrate Thanksgiving) texting Alice trying to get to the bottom of it and in the mean time I texted him back saying "Same to you" (which in retrospect was WAYYYYY lame but it was neutral so it wouldn't risk damaging anything if anything happen to be coming of this). Alice and I decided that if I hadn't heard back from him by the end of the night it would be ok for me to text him some point the next day asking about when we'd be getting together…

The day inched by and every time I checked my phone I died slightly as I hadn't received any response….day became night and night became day and soon it was a bit after noon and so I decided I would text him, I still played neutral and simply sent:

_Hey - I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! I was just wondering when you were thinking of getting together?_

Short, sweet and to the point. I was expecting another fairly speedy response and every time my phone dinged my heart stopped but it was always a family member asking for directions to the theatre for night #2 of my play (we didn't have a show on Thanksgiving)….Around 2:00 I felt really sleep and decided to take a nap warning my mom to wake me by 3:00 as I had to get ready for the night.

However my sleep was interrupted by the bing of my phone once an actor wondering about what time they had to arrive that night twice a friend asking how to get there the third time I was ready to throw it out the window I just wanted to sleep but was glad I didn't as it was a response from him!

_ Hey -sorry it took me a bit to get back to you! How's Sunday around 2? I could pick you up if you need a ride…_

I was delighted and was totally glad I had fought the impulse to ignore the beep till post nap time! I quickly responded:

_Sure that sounds great - and I could definitely use the ride! Where should we go?_

I waited anxiously as the second ticked by as I waited for his response which came mere moments later simply saying:

_Diner? I figured we'd grab something to eat_

Not exactly the worlds greatest correspondence but I was elated:

_Can't wait! :)_

The hours passed slowly as they faded into days but at last it was Sunday afternoon I was wearing a simple but cute outfit (a grey cami with a pink sweater with jeans and converse) and I was anxiously waiting for him to arrive.

I watched from the window as he pulled up in a silver Volvo I was preparing to go outside to meet him when I saw him walking up to the door. He rang the doorbell and greeted me when I opened the door, we gave our now standard gesture of hugging and he came in I told him I was about to come out and he said "What sort of guy would I be if I didn't come to the door - besides it would be rude of me not to say hello to your parents." I smiled at how old fashioned he was, and how different he was from other guys I knew before saying, "Well that's really nice of you - but my parents are out."

And on that note we were out the door driving to the nearby diner. On the short drive over we discussed music and our families and generally sort of getting to know you type things because even though we've known each other since forever we didn't really know each other at all….

Once at the diner we were seated rather quickly, we perused the menu and placed our order before beginning discussion again. Once we did start talking we slowly progressed through a variety of topics, we first picked back up with my play and school and that evolved to why he didn't go to school and how he made the decision to enlist. Once we were caught up on the present we revisited the past talking about people we both knew and experiences somehow we started talking about exes which was interesting since the advent of facebook made me aware despite not even talking to him at the time when he was in and out of a relationship over the past few years it was nice to put reasons to status updates…..

The talk of exes brought us to our current situations where we both redundantly told the other we were single and it was this point where our food came out.

As we ate we discussed why we thought we'd lost touch over the years and what a same it had been and how different things probably would have been for both of us had we remained close friends or even just friends period…I trying to bring some sort of philosophical reasoning to the table brought up how though if things had been different then this moment wouldn't be happening as it is right then. To which he smiled and said wll then maybe it was for the best...

I smiled and we looked at each other for a moment before we both hesitantly looked down at our food, it was reaching the end of our meal and so I brought up the one thing we hadn't discussed

"So, you're only here till next Tuesday? And then…"

He cut me off saying, "I head to Afghanistan" while nodding . We were silent for a minute but then he spoke saying, "Listen I don't want us to lose touch again either" referencing what I had said at the theatre, "but I am leaving in a week and you are heading back to school…"

This time I nodded. I looked at him then though and boldly said, "So what do we do?"

I think he was taken aback by my question, probably having been expecting me to just leave it be and accept it would be near impossible to form a friendship in these circumstances….it would've been hard if we'd been in touch but to start from scratch this way seemed sort of nuts but I think we were both ok with that.

Since he'd responded with a silent stare I continued saying, "Listen, I know I'm going back to school but if you have a free night you should come up and see the show I'm working on there - I didn't write it or anything I'm just working backstage as part of a requirement but it's pretty funny and we could hang out afterward or even before - or both" I ended with a laugh. He smiled and said "That sounds fun - sure."

We ended our lunch with a feeling of happiness and friendship but still with very vague notions towards what this all meant and what either of our intentions was.

Flash forward he came to my school and saw the show - afterward we went to the student union and grabbed coffee, seating ourselves in the way back away from the crowds. We talked briefly about the show but since it was Saturday and he was leaving Tuesday there was weight bearing down on us that made us feel like talking about bigger topics and more important issues - namely what this all meant…. We had been having fun - we'd been texting since the diner - not non-stop but consistent enough…and there was definitely some flirting going on in both directions….but neither of us addressed that. We talked about how weird it all was and how unfair it was that we couldn't have become friends again sooner we laughed at the fact that they could access facebook in the desert (though only on rare occasions) and then it was time for him to go. I got his address where I could send him letters, which he strongly encouraged sending and I walked him to his car. We were in the parking lot overlooking the water and the bridge that connected the island my school was on with the city and there was a full moon glowing above us. I bit my lip out of nervousness not knowing what to say and I just hugged him and he wrapped his arms around me in return and we just stood there for awhile like that - as if time had stopped and we were frozen in that moment forever but that would have been too good to be true. We pulled apart and he told me he'd text me when he got home and I just nodded, unable to find my voice - he tried to lighten the situation by saying I'd better write or he'd never speak to me again causing me to say "of course I'll write!" That time it was him who just nodded - it wasn't awkward but it was one of those situations where you just don't know how to part gracefully….After just standing there for a couple of minutes he got out his car keys and was starting to get ready to go for real but I grabbed him by the arm and hugged him again and just quietly said "be safe." And I felt him nod against my shoulder and with that he got in his car and drove off. We didn't say good bye because we both knew that it wasn't one.

Flash forward I become the best pen pal known to man. We wrote each other back and forth every week - sometimes twice if something big happened - for the rest of the year and into the next one. We saw each other over his next time home and it was as if we'd been inseparable best friends for years. I ran to him when I saw him at the park where we'd decided to meet and he wrapped his arms around me twirling me around like we were in some old movie. We spent the next few hours catching up and explaining things that we'd said but just didn't make sense in letters. The sun was setting and we were walking to a field where there was going to be a fireworks display, we set up a blanket and sat down, I leaned against him without even thinking about it for support and soon after he'd wrapped his arm around me because I'd said I was cold…it felt totally normal and not out of the norm at all… like we'd been doing that forever. We watched the short display and decided to walk around for a bit longer, our hands kept brushing as our arms swayed as we walked and after a few times they ended up clasping each other - I don't know how it exactly happened but when it did we just looked at each other with sort of shocked expressions on our faces which melted into shy smiles. We continued our walk hand in hand and when we got back to our cars it was hard to part. I broke our silence first asking "How long are you home for now?"

He looked up at me with a serious sort of look in his eyes saying, "About two weeks."

I nodded, knowing this was going to be the case but disappointed nonetheless, he lifted my chin with his finger and smiled, our eyes locked and the next thing I knew he was kissing me and I was kissing him back, my mind filled with what the future might now hold for us. It was an amazing moment and I was overjoyed but it was interrupted by the incessant beeping of my phone, not just once twice or three times but repeatedly over and over and over again but no matter what I did I couldn't make it stop until I pulled away and took it out of my pocket and fumbled with it and as I did so the moment faded away and as the noise stopped my eyes adjusted to the light and I was in my bed in my room awaking from my nap - my alarm on gone off right on time and I still had not received a response from him.

It had all been a dream and now I wondered even deeper what the future may hold for us when, if ever, he texted me back.

The End.

**Hey everyone I hope you enjoyed that - if you did please review it! I'm debating continuing it with another chapter with another mini story following what happened next so the more reviews the more likely I am to continue ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone: Sorry for all the typos and such in the last one - like I said it was 4 AM when I wrote it and I really did it more for me then to publish so I didn't do much proof reading but here's an update written at a much earlier hour **** Enjoy!**

The day had gone well and the second night of the play went astonishingly well! I was ecstatic and couldn't believe my life - but it was all sort of dampened by the lack of response I was getting to my text to Edward from earlier in the day.

I went to bed that night just searching my brain for a reason - was it me? Was it him? Maybe he didn't want to start something (even a friendship) before leaving? Did he regret contacting me? I tried working my thoughts out on paper to calm myself but actually resorted to just praying he would get back to me - just so I could even feel some closure on the topic….

Sometime post 4 AM I drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep and didn't wake up until well after 11 am. When I did, my phone, which lay next to my pillow, was blinking its little light signaling I had a message! I couldn't breathe - I snatched the phone and quickly navigated to my messages where I found a text from him!

It said:

_Hey I was wondering if you would like to hangout today and see a movie or something? I'm going to visit my grandma but whenever I get back I'll let you know_

I was in shock and totally dying of excitement - what a way to start a day! I quickly responded with:

_That sounds fun! I just have to head into the city for the last night of my play around 5 but otherwise just let me know :) _

To which he quickly responded:

_Alright sounds good :) _

I got out of bed then wanting to practically leap for joy - he had texted me back! - but I contained myself and settled for just going downstairs to eat a piece of toast and have a cup of tea.

I got dressed about 4 times trying to find the perfect laidback effortless but classy cute outfit and finally settled on jeans with my converse with a grey cami (thanks dream date for the help haha) but put an oversized purple and white plaid button down over it instead of my pink sweater.

I literally spent the next few hours sitting all dressed and ready at my kitchen table just waiting while talking with my mom. It got to be 2:00 and my hope was starting to dissipate so I sent this text to him:

_Hey I know you're visiting your grandma but I just wanted to let you know I think a movie might be out for today because I won't have any time to get ready for my show tonight but I'd still like to do something or maybe we could hang out tomorrow when I don't have any time constraints? It's up to you I just wanted to give you the heads up :) _

He didn't respond right away so I went out to lunch with my mom and while there I received this response:

_When are you leaving to go back to school?_

Sort of a non-answer but I did understand because I had said I was going back Sunday - but I was actually going back quite early Monday morning so I told him:

_Well actually I'm not going back till Monday morning so I'm free all day/night_

To which he replied with:

_Alright well tomorrow is good if you wanna do something and if you wanted you could come over to my house later today if you want too._

I was sort of stunned by this response but instead of spending millennia thinking over it and have my mom wait even longer for me to rejoin our prior conversation I replied:

_I would but I think I'm running out of time for today :/ but let's definitely do something tomorrow! What time would be best for you?_

Sweet, simple to the point and it established the plan so I wasn't left wondering again :) He replied quite promptly with:

_Well that's cool then um I'm not exactly sure I wanna say 2 or 3 for tomorrow_

The "um" made me feel bad because if he was half as excited as I had been he was majorly let down about my practical cancellation so I responded with:

_Yeah that sounds good :) I'm sorry about today I just have to get ready for the show tonight and we leave early to beat the traffic so it kind of cuts a big chunk into the day_

I waited with baited breath to see if he was mad or not but his response seemed mellow:

_Yea I got it - it's all good. Good luck with the show_

I was so glad that he wasn't upset so I said:

_Thanks! And I'll talk/see you tomorrow :)_

To which, to my liking, he replied:

_Alright sounds good :)_

And that was it…. We were all set though we had plan for what we were doing. After lunch my mom and I discussed the situation and she warned me not to get my hopes to high because he was leaving - something I had to keep reminding myself as I tried with all my might to keep my head grounded and prevent it from floating off to cloud nine…..

We went grocery shopping and then I changed into my outfit for the show. The drive in went well and we went for dinner. Everything was going perfect and the show was a sold out hit for our third and final night! I couldn't believe my luck for the weekend.

When I got home that night I went straight to bed and fell asleep faster than I ever had in my life just trying to make the next day come faster!

I woke up at about 11:20 and had breakfast with my family. While eating I received a text from him saying:

_Hey I'm thinking I'm going to come at 2. I'm not sure what we can do though because I don't have a car._

I was a) uncertain about where he was coming to because we had never discussed pickup and such b) nervous that he just wanted to hang out at my house c)elated to hear from him

I began to take charge of the situation with the following response:

_Come - like to my house? I don't have a car either but maybe I can borrow my mom's…_

I awaited his response while getting ready to shower when it came I was happy because he was unhindered by our circumstances:

_Well we'll figure out something I'm sure and I'll come to your house then_

I simply said:

_Great!_

To which the following exchange occurred after:

E: _:)_

B: _:)_

I took a shower, got dressed - I wore my converse and jeans but this time paired them with a blue and white striped knit sweater that was loose and sort of hung nicely without looking baggy - did my hair and sparsely applied some makeup. I was just brushing my teeth when he text me:

_I'm going to head over now_

My heart stopped - this was really happening! I was so nervous I could die but I just said:

_Ok great see you soon!_

I quickly finished up and it was only about 10 minutes later that my doorbell was ringing.

I greeted him at the door and we hugged, I welcomed him so we could figure out what to do and we quickly decided to see a movie and then go get a bite to eat. We headed out and so it began.

On the drive over to the theater we discussed my play and my school, what made him want to enlist and some normal getting to know you topics like favorite music, we also decided what movie we should see. When we arrived we got online for our tickets, we had decided to go see Due Date on the ride over, and we talked about the his life in the Marines and various general topics before moving on to weightier things like how guys in the service tend to get married so young and how he disagrees with it, thinking that's why they all end so badly. I said I felt the same way and it was a cool moment because it was the first time I'd talked about that type of thing with a guy and not just Alice or Angela….

We got to ticket counter and he said he's pay for my ticket! I said thanks and that he didn't have to but he insisted.

Once we had our tickets we realized we had an hour and a half until the movie started so we hung around the theater talking about cell phones and favorite movies and interests and sports when I realized my phone was still in the car. So we walked back out to the car and retrieved it, on the way he asked if I minded if he smoked and I told him I didn't and he apologized anyway making me smile while telling him he didn't have to apologize. Somehow we ended up talking about kids, probably because there were what seemed like hundreds of them running around the movie theater, and I told him how I'd worked at an arts and crafts camp the past few summers and how it was a night mare and he said he used to help his ex at a day care she worked out and had a similar experience. We laughed about it and it was a running topic of conversation while we were outside it eventually turned into a conversation about how there's so much sexual innuendo in kids shows and movies and how crazy that is…We were walking back toward the theatre when he told me that he didn't have people to talk about these types of things with and that he thought about them and it was nice to have someone of the "opposite sex" to talk about them with. I was sort of dumbfounded because it seemed so natural for me to just talk about these random sort of things so I sort of just made a joke saying "Well I'm here!" with a smile. He smiled too and we were at the door to the theatre he was still smoking so I told him I didn't mind staying outside if he wanted and he smiled thanks and apologetically said if I got cold I could wear his sweater! I, unfortunately, was stupid and said "No, no - I'm fine thanks" if only I had been using my brain I could've worn his jacket but oh well you win some, you lose some I guess…

The conversation moved towards past relationships and he asked what I looked for in a relationship and I was sort of taken aback so I said, "Well I don't know I haven't been in that many" meaning I had basically no experience and I was going to continue but he cut in saying that he looked for "someone he was really good friends with first, someone he'd known his whole life, because he thought it was important to really know whoever you're with." Shock and joy raced through my veins as I adamantly agreed with him and put in that "I look for someone I can talk to, someone to have fun with" to which he agreed. There was no way I needed my coat I was warm enough already.

We started talking about food and batted around a few ideas for after the movie, finally deciding on going to the cheesecake factory. We headed inside and he asked me if I wanted any popcorn or anything I said I'd get a soda, which I paid for but then he asked if I wanted popcorn and I said I'd share one, so he got that and we headed to find seats.

Once seated we had really no problem keeping conversation going as we chatted about the various commercials and trailers that ran and once the movie started we had plenty of moments where we looked at each other or made a comment toward one another about the stupid antics happening on the screen, it wasn't actually very good though parts of it were funny, but there were a few moments that made my nerves stand on edge - things that were supposed to be humorous that just weren't and that neither of us laughed at - and it was moments like that that made us look at each other too.

The movie ended and we were back to real life. We hadn't held hands and he hadn't put his arm around me but it just felt nice to be with him like this, one on one and the fact that people who looked at us probably thought we were together made me smile. As we were walking out a little boy almost ran into me and I had to jump out of his path, which meant I had to step directly in front of Edward, and we didn't touch but it was close enough where I could feel his presence and I couldn't help but think I could get used to that. We laughed about my near take down by the toddler and made our way to the car.

On the ride over we talked about the type of music we like and about books we enjoyed, though he wasn't much of a reader; we talked about our siblings and about high school - he had been the quiet loner and I had been the shy girl - completely different schools and we both silently wondered what would've happen if I had gone to the public school where he went rather than the all girls Catholic school I actually attended.

We parked fairly quickly and got seated even quicker. We talked a bit about the restaurant and what we were going to order and then moved onto weightier topics like when he was leaving and the holiday - it was going to be his first Christmas away from home. We talked about my allergies and quietly commented on how we'd both had near death experiences at young ages which I think was a bonding moment for us because it's weird to think about but I'd never had someone to share that with and I told him that - I mean how many people my age went through something like that at such a young age and it was cool because he UNDERSTOOD and he got the whole don't like to talk about it too much thing because the past was the past and why should we harp on it which I was so grateful to have someone who got it and practiced it and we smiled as that conversation faded. As the dinner continued we learned each other's favorite bands, colors, foods, first jobs, craziest experiences and the like. We ended the meal with a glass of hot apple cider and discussion about how glad we were that we were able to hang out and get to see each other and reconnect. He paid the check (once again I offered but he said he had it and I thanked him profusely…) and we walked back to the car.

As we walked I brought up how usually I would use facebook and a cell phone to stay in touch with a friend and I turned it into a question by ending the statement with "but I'm thinking those won't work with you" He sort of just laughed and said yeah so I followed up with "so is there any way I could stay in touch with you?" He told me he'd write down my address and that he would write me to which I told him that I'd love to write him and we had one of our smile filled silences.

As we made the drive back to town for me to drop him off we talked a bit more about high school and again mentioned how glad we were. I complained how I didn't want to go back to school because it had been such a fun weekend and followed up with the fact I was glad it would only be about 16 days, since I got out on Dec. 15 to which he said, "That's the day before my birthday". And so I told him my birthday, "July 10" and he talked about how he'd be home in time for it since he'll be back in July and in time for July 4th and he'd definitely be around for at least 6 days following that and I told him it was the big 21 so it was def. a party he didn't want to miss and we basically made arrangements for him to come to my birthday party, which in perspective seems so insignificant but I was elated.

We pulled up to the house I was dropping him off at, a friends who he was visiting, and I parked the car, We leaned in and hugged saying we'd had a great time and were so glad we'd been able to do it and the hug lingered as he said he'd see me when he got back and I quietly said "be safe" which was a total downer but it had to be said…. He nodded, I think recognizing my uncertainty in saying it, and we said we'd talk to each other later and that was it. He closed the door and went into the house and I drove away - only to call Alice as I drove followed up with Angela; we were all in agreement that though it had stayed platonic with no hand holding, arm around me gestures or kissing it was definitely a date - and it had that charged sense to it and in retrospect I think those silences were also just filled with tension as he wanted to be a gentleman and he was leaving but I think there were definitely thoughts brewing under the surface (on both our parts) that just hadn't been acted on.

And now I am consumed by the memories of the day and every time I let the memory of his presence wash over me I feel like I'm carried away to some foreign planet….

I have 7 months till I can even see him again let alone find out if this is headed anywhere (unless he makes some sort of confession in a letter which I highly doubt) but we will get to know each other as great friends though our letters (which I found out via a Google search will take a month to reach him and his me). And so I am left waiting to find out what, if anything, will happen? Only time will tell….


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone - thanks so much for reading - if you like it please do review it! I'm sort of trating this story like a weird sort of diary so in way this is almost like a reality tv show/ fanfiction haha….Becuase I am basically translating my life into the story though I'm taking as much time as usually would to sift through it and make sure everything tied together I'm just writing what happens as it happens…stay tuned 3**

I went up to bed that night thinking about the day. As I went to set my alarm I noticed I hadn't turned the volume on my phone back on after the movie. As I corrected it I noticed I had a text. It was from him :)

_Tonight was good I'm glad that I have you as a friend_

First I was a bit down with the use of the word friend - but after conferring with Alice and Angela via facebook chat I decided it wasn't bad, because he had said he thought the bas of a relationship should be a really strong friendship…. So I responded saying:

_Thanks me too I had a great time tonight :)_

After sending it I went back to setting my alarm has I had originally set out and drifted off to dreamland where I had the strangest dream….

I was at school but it wasn't my school it looked almost like a hospital. I was in an elevator with Alice and Angela and my cousin Jessica and I kept trying to check my facebook messages but I couldn't get to them, which was recurring throughout the dream. We got off the elevator and Edward was there with some other guys who I didn't know and they were all in uniform they were planning a dance as a fundraiser but it was like he couldn't see me and I couldn't talk to him and it was all somehow linked to me not being able to check my messages.

I woke up feeling very confused and yet happy since I'd seen him in my dreams….

Later in the day I realized I'd never given him my address so I sent it to him as a text and with it I asked if I could have his, to which he responded :

_Thank you and I don't have the address on me but I will shoot you a text and give it to you. Thanks again_

I went on with my day preparing to go back to school, eventually he sent me the address and we texted a bit just about the specifics of how to send a letter through this process. It concluded with him telling me:

_Have a good one :)_

He was a man of few words but seeing his name come up on the screen of my cellphone still made me get a chill down my neck, so I just sent back:

_:)_

I went back to school later in the day and just got back into the swing of things after having been off for a week. I told all my friend and everyone was really excited for me.

As I did my day to day activities and got myself unpacked I couldn't stop my mind from drifting to thoughts of him and our date and what I was desperately hoping would come of all of it….

**Hope you guys enjoyed that! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone – I know the last update was incredibly short but hopefully this will make up for it :) **

**If you like it Review it!**

I was sitting in my dorm room watching TV with my roommate, Rosalie and his address was practically burning a hole in my pocket so I decided to write him a letter…he hadn't even left yet but I had been doing a bit of research and had found out that it could take up to a month for letters to reach him so I got out a notebook and tried to begin writing….but my mind was literally drawing a blank – what the hell was I supposed to write in this letter? Everything I thought of seemed either redundant or trivial – I had no idea what he would want to read in a letter…

I ended up throwing around a bunch of ideas in a word document and then wrote a first draft before giving up and going to sleep.

The next day I had to work in the morning so I took my letter with me and re-wrote it fine tuning it and reorganizing some of the placement of the different topics. I had Angela read both and she gave me great feedback which led to me writing a third and final draft that combined the best of both prior drafts and it resulted in this:

_Hey Edward, _

_So first of all I have to apologize for my horrible handwriting…it's just one of those things that never got better, but I figured it was better than typing :/ (yes there will be use of smileys haha)._

_You only left yesterday (I'm mailing this on 12/1) but I know by the time this reaches you you'll have actually been gone for a while and I wanted to get a letter to you as soon as possible! _

_I tried thinking about what you would want to read in a letter and I kept drawing a blank considering you actually know most of what's currently "new", because I saw you 2 days ago…which was so much fun – but so then I thought I'd put in a joke but I realized I'm not really very good at telling jokes…_

_So in lieu of something really exciting here are some random updates (never fear I'm thinking my letter writing skills will improve with time :) ):_

_ -There is nothing on the radio but Christmas music. I like it but I was thinking about all the bands we mentioned the other day and not one of them has played since then!_

_ -I am currently on a wild goose chase like scavenger hunt for a copy of "Saving Private Ryan." Ever since you mentioned it I've wanted to watch it…My roommate says she can maybe download it for me, so if she does I think we'll be watching it tomorrow night :)_

_ -There is a Vikings game on 12/5 which is Sunday – I don't know if its unimportant while you're over there or if it seems silly to do this but I was planning on including the score in my next letter…_

_That's actually something I've been wondering about – how often is too often to write? I know you don't have a lot of spare time to read/respond to them but with how long they take to reach you I figured the more the better…but do let me know! (I don't want to get annoying :) )._

_I don't know what date it will be when this reaches you but hopefully one of the following will be timely:_

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_

_MERRY CHRISTMAS!_

_I'm sending you a Christmas card but I have no idea when it will be arriving…_

_(sorry to ruin the surprise!)_

_After we hung out that night I found this old photo of the two of us back in the day haha…I don't even know if you actually remember (because who actually remembers pre-school? :) ) but I thought it was fun/funny….so it's enclosed :)_

_ *Side note: A writer should never be allowed to write letters, My brain keeps trying to make it sound like a script… [I also apologize for all the "…"s – they're a bad habit :) )_

_So now that I've babbled on – How are you? How is it going? Tell me about life there…(well, only if you want to :) ) I hope you're doing well and that this letter finds you safe and happy and that maybe it will brighten your day or even just put a smile on your face :)_

_It's so weird(in a good way) how our lives just reconnected like this – it's actually mind boggling and it's rally been on my mind a lot…What makes it even crazier is that we basically only spent 1 day together and yet I feel like you've always been a part of my life! And now that you're not here I miss you :)_

_Hoping to hear from you soon,_

_Bella_

After writing it out I folded it in 1/4s to fit in the envelope and slid it inside. I addressed the envelope and stuck it in my bag until I could go buy a stamp for it the next day.

And that was that. All I could do was wonder what he would think of it or when I would get a reply…or so I thought.

That night I had to pull an all nighter to write an essay and didn't make it to bed until about 3:30 AM. I had a 9:40 class and so I set my alarm and then hit the hay.

The noise was loud and it was disruptive, I wanted to sleep more (!) so I quickly slid my hand across my phone to silence the alarm but just as I hit ignore I saw, through the slits of my eyes, an "E" and part of a picture – and right then I realized the noise I had just silenced and ignored was not my alarm but a phone call from Edward! It took me ½ second to decide what to do before I jumped out of bed and quickly redialed his number.

He answered on the second ring and said, "Sorry I butt dialed you." A bit of a letdown that it wasn't a real phone call but I was talking to do him on the phone! (Also that would mean I was one of the last people he contacted :) )

"Oh – that's fine I just wanted to call you back and explain why I hit ignore – I thought you were my alarm clock going off – I just wanted to see what was up…"

He laughed at my alarm explanation and then said, "So, how are you?"

We were having a phone conversation!

I responded saying "I'm good – I'm back at school just getting back into the groove of things…stayed up all night writing a paper…"

He quickly jumped in saying, "I'm sorry I woke you – stopped you from sleeping in"

Too which I quickly said, "No – no – it's fine, it's fine – how are you?"

He said, "I'm pretty good" a short silence fell as I was scrambling around my room trying to get dressed before he said, "Well, I'll let you go"

I was saddened to have it end but I also needed to get dressed plus my roommate was sleeping so I said, "Ok – it was good hearing from you"

He said "yeah – I'll talk to you soon" and with that the conversation was over.

As I continued getting ready for class I saw I had a text message.

It was from him ( :D ) saying:

_I apologize_

Sometimes that boy was too nice – he was apologizing for making this morning awesome! So I said back:

_No really don't I had to get up anyway :)_

To which he replied:

_Oh so I guess I was your wake up call lol :)_

I smiled and replied back:

_Yeah lol pretty much :)_

I didn't want the texting to end plus I was curious so I sent a second message saying:

_I didn't know you would have your cell phone_

He replied back pretty quickly saying:

_I didn't think I was going to keep it but I did. I'm in North Carolina at my room_

I didn't know quite what to say back to that so I said:

_Oh hm…how long are you in North Carolina for?_

He replied back saying:

_I'm thinking a few more days_

I kept fumbling not knowing what to say in reply so I said"

_Oh that's good_

He sent back saying:

_Yeah I'm pretty much getting the last of my gear_

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to mean that's what he was doing right now and couldn't text or if it meant that's why he was in North Carolina or both so I said:

_Oh does that mean no more texting? :/_

I smiled when I saw his reply saying:

_Nah you're good :)_

I was glad so I sent back saying:

_Oh good :) haha_

I was happy that his next response propelled the conversation forward saying:

_Lol so what r u doing today?_

Unfortunately I was in class when that response came so the next time I sent back I said:

_Sorry I was in class – nothing too much. Just classes till 4 then making a trip to the post office and then I go to the theatre for the show I'm working at school :) nothing special… how about you?_

His response came fairly speedy saying:

_Just standing in line extremely bored_

I had no idea what to say to that…..after a few moments of thinking I sent back saying:

_ Oh I'm sorry =/ So is it as rainy and windy down there as it is up here?_

Yes I'd resorted to discussing the weather….but he responded saying:

_Its all good and yeah it was stormy last night_

Once again I was stuck in class so my next response said"

_Sorry again damn these classes haha yeah its really nasty out…so I actually have to thank you for calling because it turns out I slept through my alarm and if you hadn't called I would have slept through my class haha :)_

I had realized this during class because my actual alarm had never actually sounded….he responded twice and I can't figure out if 1 wasn't actually for me but he said:

_Oh well its no problem_

And then

_Well I'm glad I was able to help_

I felt the conversation winding down again and so all I said was:

_I'm glad too :)_

And that was it.

The letter I wrote him will be going in the mail box later today and now I really have no idea when the next time I'll be hearing from him is – I don't want to text him because I don't want to be a distraction and I don't know precisely when he's shipping out but I'm assuming that if I don't hear from him in the next 3 days then the next time I will be hearing from him will be in a letter….this is going to be a long wait.

**Hope you enjoyed that! I know these are sort of strange and short updates compared to most fanfics but again I'm more doing this more for myself than anything but if you like it please do review it!**


	5. Chapter 4 & a half  mini update

A few days had passed since I had put my letter in the mail box and in that time I had developed a cold and so I was sitting in my room like a bum with a runny nose one night watching sad romantic movies and I decided to type this fake letter to Edward. I had no intention of ever sending it even as I began typing the first few words but they were words I needed to get off my chest so I thought maybe typing them would help - and it kind of did…

_Dear Edward,_

_I miss you. I feel like I'm in this weird sort of limbo….I can't stop thinking about the day we spent together and the outcome I was hoping for - but I understand why it didn't go that way. You were leaving, I was leaving - we were two ships passing each other in the night. A weird unexplained attachment like that would have made both of us crazy - even crazier than the level of crazy I am currently reaching….I can't wait to hear back from you. My last letter sent only 3 days ago but this is the letter I really should have written - the letter that says: What the fuck is this? Was it a date? Were we just 2 people hanging out? Are you really going to call me to hang out when you get back and what the hell is going to happen then? So many questions are running through my mind exactly like that and I can't turn them off…_

_I've never had such an appreciation for the song "Some Other Time" - it's a song from the musical On the Town and my school did it at the end of my freshman year of college, it's all about these 3 guys and 3 girls and the guys are in the Navy and have 1 day to go a shore in NYC and through out the day they each meet one of the girls and then spend the day with them and all go out as a group at night and then in the wee hours of the morning they take the subway back to their ship with the girls in tow for this goodbye song and it talks about how time goes so fast and how their was so much they still wanted to do and how they wanted to have a future together but since it was only 1 day they don't they only have that one day and then they'll just catch up some other time and hopefully pick up where they left off and can maybe have all of that then….The last bit of it really says it all "__Just when the fun is starting,__  
__Comes the time for parting,But let's be glad for what we've had__And what's to come.__There's so much more embracing__Still to be done, but time is racing.__Oh, well, we'll catch up__Some other time."_

_So that's all I've been wanting to get off my chest I guess….. and that….._

_Love,_

_Bella_


End file.
